Back Lever: Progression, Muscles Worked and How to Do It

A back lever is a straight-arm hold under a bar or rings, face down, with the body level with the floor. It puts a heavy stretch on the shoulders and biceps, so it is built step by step. Along with the front lever and the planche, it is one of the three classic lever holds in calisthenics. This page shows you which step of the progression you are on, how to do the hold and what it works.

How to do a back lever

1. Hang from a pull-up bar or rings with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart.
2. Brace your core, pull your knees to your chest and tip backwards so your hips rise above your head.
3. Pass your legs between your arms and keep turning until you hang upside down, then keep going slowly so your body lowers behind you.
4. Stop when your body is level with the floor, face down, with your arms locked straight.
5. Squeeze your glutes and hold one straight line from your neck to your toes.
6. Reverse the movement under control to come out of it.

At each new step, practise slow lowers into the position before you try to hold it. Lower in slowly every time. Dropping into the bottom puts a sudden load on the shoulders and biceps. Put mats under the bar in case your grip goes, and have someone watch your body line: upside down, it is hard to tell whether your hips are bent.

Muscles worked in the back lever

The back lever works the shoulders, chest and biceps hardest, with the back and core holding the body in line.

• Shoulders and chest: the front delts and the chest hold the straight arms back against your body weight.
• Biceps: work under a long stretch, because the arms stay straight behind you. This is why the hold is built slowly.
• Lats, traps and rhomboids: keep the shoulder blades set so the shoulders stay stable.
• Abs and obliques: stop the midsection from sagging toward the floor.
• Lower back and glutes: keep the hips from bending, so the body stays in one line.
• Forearms: hold your grip in an unusual, upside-down position.

Benefits of the back lever

The back lever builds straight-arm strength in the shoulders, chest and biceps, which few other exercises train. The German hang and skin the cat on the way to it also build shoulder range.

Exercises that build toward the back lever

• Skin the cat and German hang: the first steps of the ladder above. They teach the turn-over and open the shoulders.
• Pull-ups: build the grip and the shoulder strength to control the turn. See our pull-up guide.
• Plank: teaches you to hold a straight body line. See our plank guide.
• Hollow body hold: builds the braced core the hold needs. See our hollow body hold guide.

For the face-up version of the skill, see our front lever guide.

Back lever FAQ

Can a beginner do a back lever?

Not straight away. You need a pull-up base and a pain-free German hang first. The check above tells you which step to start on, and most people begin at the first two.

Should I learn the back lever on a bar or on rings?

Either works. A bar is steadier. Rings let the hands turn, which many people find easier on the elbows and shoulders.

How often should I practise the back lever?

Two or three short sessions a week is plenty while you learn, with a rest day between them. The biceps and shoulders need that time to adapt to the stretch.